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The Passive Voice in English
22.05.2025
3 minutes to read
The passive voice in English is a simple thing if you don’t overcomplicate it. Look: how is the passive voice formed? You take the verb to be in the required form + the third form of the main verb. For example: “The book was read.” That’s it! That’s the passive voice. The passive voice table helps you not to get confused with tenses. The main thing is to remember: who performs the action is not that important in the passive. How the passive voice is formed in English depends on the tense, but the formula is almost always the same. The rules are not difficult—you just need to practice. Also, it’s best to say passive voice examples out loud right away — that helps you remember them faster.
Table of contents
The passive voice in English is a way to say that an action is not performed by someone, but that it happens to someone. Like, instead of saying “Someone ate the pizza,” you say “The pizza was eaten.” It sounds more solid, and it shifts the focus. Passive voice is often used when it’s not important who did the action, or when it’s just obvious. For example: “The window was broken.” — it’s clear someone broke it, but who exactly is not the point. Now about the structure. How is the passive voice formed? Easy: a form of the verb to be + the third form (or past participle) of the main verb. That’s it. For example: “The cake is eaten.” If it’s in the past — “was eaten.” To avoid confusion, you’ll need a passive voice table — it shows how everything is built in different tenses. If you’re still confused, no worries. How the passive is formed depends on the tense, but the idea stays the same. The key is to watch the form of to be. Then you just insert the correct form of the main verb. And voilà — a full passive sentence. You can find passive voice examples everywhere: in the news, in official letters, even in songs. “A new law was passed” or “The song was written by Adele.” See? Easy. The main thing is not to cram the rules but to read and listen to more English. In short — the rule for passive voice in English is not complicated. The key is to understand the idea: the focus is not on who does something but on what happens. Once you get that — the passive will become your friend. By the way, sometimes the passive helps you sound more polite. Instead of saying “You broke the cup” — “The cup was broken.” No one gets blamed — and fewer conflicts. That’s another feature of the passive voice in English — its neutrality. So the more often you notice and use it, the more confident you’ll feel in conversation.
What is the Passive Voice in English
How the Passive Voice is Formed in English
If you’re just starting to learn English, the passive voice might sound super complicated at first. But actually — it’s way simpler than it seems. Let’s break down how the passive voice is formed in English, without fancy terms and stress. First, you need to understand the idea. In the active voice, someone does something: “Tom eats an apple.” In the passive — something is done by someone: “The apple is eaten by Tom.” See the difference? Now the focus is not on Tom, but on the apple. Now for the formula. How is the passive voice formed? It’s simple: take the right form of the verb to be (depending on the tense) and add the third form of the main verb (that is, the past participle). That’s it. For example:
Sometimes it’s hard at first: you seem to know the rule and remember the form, but still get confused. Simple exercises and analyzing examples help a lot. For example:
- Present Simple: The door is opened.
- Past Simple: The door was opened.
- Future Simple: The door will be opened.
Sometimes it’s hard at first: you seem to know the rule and remember the form, but still get confused. Simple exercises and analyzing examples help a lot. For example:
- The homework was done.
- The song is sung.
When to Use the Passive Voice
When you’re just starting to learn English, it might seem like the passive voice is just some grammar formality. But actually, it’s really useful, especially when you don’t want or can’t name the “doer” of the action. Let’s look at when to use the passive voice and how it helps in real life.
First, passive is used when it’s not important who did the action. For example: “The car was stolen.” — The car was stolen. Who did it — unknown, and it doesn’t matter. In such cases, the passive voice really saves the day. Because it focuses on the result, not the doer.
Second, when it’s already clear who did something, and there’s no need to repeat it. Like: “The criminal was arrested.” It’s obvious it was the police, so you don’t need to say it. This is often seen in news and official texts — they love the passive voice for its neutrality and precision.
Third reason — politeness. Compare: “You broke the phone” and “The phone was broken.” The second version sounds softer and less accusing. So the passive voice is also a way to keep things friendly.
Fourth — scientific and business style. There, the passive is almost always used: “The experiment was conducted,” “The report was written.” It makes the language more objective, like things just happened — pure science, no emotions.
And finally, the passive helps you speak smoothly when you don’t know who did something — or just want to sound more professional. The main thing is to remember how the passive voice is formed so you don’t get mixed up with forms. And here’s a simple rule: if you want to highlight what happened, not who did it — use the passive. That’s what it’s for. And to get comfortable with it faster, read examples, say them out loud, and pay attention to how it sounds in films and texts.
First, passive is used when it’s not important who did the action. For example: “The car was stolen.” — The car was stolen. Who did it — unknown, and it doesn’t matter. In such cases, the passive voice really saves the day. Because it focuses on the result, not the doer.
Second, when it’s already clear who did something, and there’s no need to repeat it. Like: “The criminal was arrested.” It’s obvious it was the police, so you don’t need to say it. This is often seen in news and official texts — they love the passive voice for its neutrality and precision.
Third reason — politeness. Compare: “You broke the phone” and “The phone was broken.” The second version sounds softer and less accusing. So the passive voice is also a way to keep things friendly.
Fourth — scientific and business style. There, the passive is almost always used: “The experiment was conducted,” “The report was written.” It makes the language more objective, like things just happened — pure science, no emotions.
And finally, the passive helps you speak smoothly when you don’t know who did something — or just want to sound more professional. The main thing is to remember how the passive voice is formed so you don’t get mixed up with forms. And here’s a simple rule: if you want to highlight what happened, not who did it — use the passive. That’s what it’s for. And to get comfortable with it faster, read examples, say them out loud, and pay attention to how it sounds in films and texts.
Which Verbs Are Not Used in the Passive Voice
Sometimes, when learning English, you want to turn absolutely everything into the passive. But sadly, that won’t work. Some verbs just don’t get along with the passive voice. Why? Because they don’t imply an action done to someone or something. They just “exist” in the mind, not as an action.
For example, verbs like like, love, hate, know, understand, believe, and others related to feelings or thoughts are not used in passive form. We don’t say “He is liked the movie” — it sounds weird. Instead, it’s “He liked the movie.”
There’s no action that can be “aimed” at an object. These verbs are called intransitive, and the point is — they don’t have a direct object. And without a direct object, you can’t build a passive — because the passive is built around an object that “receives” the action.
For example, build is fine, because you can build a house: “The house was built.” But sleep doesn’t work in the passive — you can’t be “slept.”
If you remember the simple rule — only transitive verbs can be used in the passive — life gets easier. And anything related to feelings, thoughts, or states — usually stays out.
For example, verbs like like, love, hate, know, understand, believe, and others related to feelings or thoughts are not used in passive form. We don’t say “He is liked the movie” — it sounds weird. Instead, it’s “He liked the movie.”
There’s no action that can be “aimed” at an object. These verbs are called intransitive, and the point is — they don’t have a direct object. And without a direct object, you can’t build a passive — because the passive is built around an object that “receives” the action.
For example, build is fine, because you can build a house: “The house was built.” But sleep doesn’t work in the passive — you can’t be “slept.”
If you remember the simple rule — only transitive verbs can be used in the passive — life gets easier. And anything related to feelings, thoughts, or states — usually stays out.
Other Forms of the Passive Voice in English
When people talk about the passive voice in English, they usually mention the basic form like “The cake was eaten.” But actually, the passive has other forms worth knowing.
First is the Continuous Passive — when the action is in progress. Formula: be + being + V3. For example: “The room is being cleaned” — The room is being cleaned right now. Cool, right?
Next is the Perfect Passive — here we’re talking about completed actions. “The project has been finished.” Formula: have/has + been + V3. Pretty straightforward — just a bit longer.
There’s also the passive in modal constructions. For example: “The task must be done” — The task must be completed. It’s also logical: modal verb + be + V3.
So the passive voice isn’t just “was done,” it’s a whole set of structures for all occasions. The main thing is not to be afraid, but to gradually get used to it. At first, it sounds difficult, but then you catch the rhythm and everything falls into place.
First is the Continuous Passive — when the action is in progress. Formula: be + being + V3. For example: “The room is being cleaned” — The room is being cleaned right now. Cool, right?
Next is the Perfect Passive — here we’re talking about completed actions. “The project has been finished.” Formula: have/has + been + V3. Pretty straightforward — just a bit longer.
There’s also the passive in modal constructions. For example: “The task must be done” — The task must be completed. It’s also logical: modal verb + be + V3.
So the passive voice isn’t just “was done,” it’s a whole set of structures for all occasions. The main thing is not to be afraid, but to gradually get used to it. At first, it sounds difficult, but then you catch the rhythm and everything falls into place.
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